Trump's $1.2B crypto windfall; Blue Owl $4.7B redemption caps

The president’s financial disclosure shows he pocketed roughly $1.2 billion from crypto ventures last year, while the same market has erased trillions in paper profits for everyday investors. The stark gap underscores how policy‑friendly deals can enrich insiders even as retail participants sit on deep losses.

Leveraged ETFs have sucked in hundreds of billions this year, driven by issuers chasing high fees and traders hunting quick gains. Yet volatility decay erodes returns, and the SEC recently froze new filings of products with more than double exposure, signaling regulatory backlash. Investors face a lure‑and‑risk paradox that could reshape the ETF landscape.

The SEC unveiled a proposal that would let public companies replace their quarterly Form 10‑Q filings with a new semiannual Form 10‑S. If adopted, firms could halve the number of interim reports, potentially easing reporting burdens and shifting focus from short‑term metrics to longer‑term strategy.

Blue Owl Capital’s two flagship private‑credit funds faced $4.7 billion in redemption requests in Q2, with its tech‑focused fund seeing a 38% pull‑out. The firm capped withdrawals at 5% to avoid liquidating illiquid loans, highlighting fragile investor confidence in private credit and pressuring fee revenue.

Microsoft is pouring $2.5 billion and 6,000 engineers into the newly announced Microsoft Frontier Company, a dedicated unit to embed AI experts inside enterprise customers. The goal is to turn AI pilots into scalable, outcome‑driven deployments that protect proprietary data while delivering measurable ROI.

Tesla delivered a record 480,126 vehicles in Q2 2026, up 25% year‑over‑year, as price cuts and higher fuel costs revived demand in Europe. The surge offsets U.S. sales weakness and revives hopes the EV maker can end its two‑year decline streak.

The June 2026 employment report shows the labor force participation rate slipped to 61.5%, the lowest level in fifty years when Covid‑era distortions are excluded. Hundreds of thousands of workers stopped looking for jobs, a sign that the low unemployment rate may mask deeper slack in the labor market.

U.S. non‑farm payrolls rose only 57,000 in June, far below the 115,000 forecast and a sharp drop from May’s revised 129,000 gain. Unemployment edged down to 4.2% as labor‑force participation slipped, leaving the Fed with little pressure to hike rates further. The slowdown undercuts the narrative of a resurging labor market.

Fortune’s exclusive reveals that Condoleezza Rice, former Fed Vice Chair Don Kohn, and others see Warsh as a relentless, people‑focused leader ready to steer the central bank through unprecedented political pressure. Their take suggests his curiosity and interpersonal skill could restore credibility to policy guidance, a critical factor for markets and borrowers alike.

Global M&A volume hit a record $2.8 trillion in the first half of 2026, powered by a handful of mega‑takeovers. Dealmakers cite AI‑driven growth and a softened regulatory climate as the catalyst, with giants such as NextEra Energy and SpaceX leading the charge.

Micron Technology announced a $250 million investment in the Trump Accounts program, the largest corporate contribution to the new tax‑advantaged savings accounts for minors. The funding includes employee matching and a $250 seed deposit in six states, aiming to support up to one million children and underscoring Micron’s broader U.S. investment strategy.